How can I keep them off their run?

[myminicooper]

Not sure if this is the right place for this, but my 5 girls and newly discovered 1 guy have a nice little coop with attached run, but I let them free range most of the time. The run is only about 4ft high, so recently they have decided it's nice and fun to go up there. My only problem is the run and coop are against my side wall which is only another 4ft to the top. If they start thinking its fun up there, then think, "hey lets go eat the plants on that other side", I could be in real trouble, as could they. Any ideas on how I can keep them from sitting on top of their run, which is currently just flat chicken wire?

 

[SummerChick]

Do you have a picture of the run? Is there a way to block it so they can't get up there?

 

[Ridgerunner]

A picture would help. Sounds like your real problem is not that they are on top of the run but where they might go from there. Depending on what it looks like there may be some simple things to do.

How to post pictures/avatar
http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=26838

 

[myminicooper]

This is an older picture, as they were babies here, all but 1 of them are standard size and the 1 banty, but they all can and probably will go up there, and I only really use the run if I'm going to the store, or wont be home. And I guess it's less than 4 feet to the top of the wall from the run.

 

[SummerChick]

If you have some left over chicken wire to attach it to the top somehow and slant it just like the roof, or some bird netting would work also.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yeah, they will have no problem going over that. With the solid top to the wall, they will almost certainly want to perch on top of the wall. It looks like that is a boundary fence, so you probably don't want to put anything up there that can be seen by the neighbors.

The trees make it more difficult, but what I suggest is to put some stiff wire around the top of your run with no solid surface for them to land on. Chickens will fly up and perch on a solid surface but they tend to not fly over a fence if they cannot land on top of the fence. I don't know if I can describe it well enough so you understand what I mean. Your gate presents some difficulties too, but if you can attach wire so it stands straight up and is self-supporting due to its own stiffness (no braces or any type on the top they can land on) they will probably not try to land on top of the wire or go over it. I used welded wire but hardware cloth or even chicken wire will do if you can get it to stand up. I'd probably make it the height of the front of your coop.

 

[BWKatz]

I suggest extending the posts at the end of ur run and attaching one or two wires to it so that they can't land on the roof. u could use rope or clothesline ..whatever u have on hand. Nice looking setup BTW.

 

[teach1rusl]

If you can drill into the cinderblock wall, I'd put some screws in there (or screw a strip) along the top, and run fishing line up and down at an angle (top edge of your run up along top edge of block wall)...??? Or tack an extension onto the three exposed corners of your run and run fishing line along those...

 

[AllTheseCreatures]

The easiest thing to do is clip their wings. That way that can't fly up to perch on top of the run or over your fence. Clipping their wings just means cutting the flight feathers with a pair of scissors. The feathers will grow back, but I haven't ever had to clip any of mine twice. By the time the feathers grow back they're too heavy to make it up that high or they've given up on trying.

 

[myminicooper]

I do clip them, with one hen I clipped both, with the others I just clipped one. Even though they seem like big girls they still get pretty high even with the wings, witch is why I am concerned. Thanks for the ideas, I might try fishing line from the side into the tree or wire going up.